


on the ones pulling the strings (a story from the Capitol)

by everythingFangirl



Series: when I'm with you, I can only be me (stories from the victors' tower) [15]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, someone tell me to stop, that is. a character combination that exists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingFangirl/pseuds/everythingFangirl
Summary: The man in front of him is from the Capitol, no doubt about it. He’s lacking in some of the more outrageous modifications that other people around him sport, but his dark purple suit is studded with twinkling stars, his eyes surrounded by excessive amounts of makeup, his cheeks sprinkled with glitter. Not any Victor Ted knows, either, but there’s a strange sort of familiarity to the man that he struggles to place.He still doesn’t connect the dots until he reaches out his hand with a smile. “RT. Gamemaker.”
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: when I'm with you, I can only be me (stories from the victors' tower) [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715008
Comments: 13
Kudos: 73
Collections: victors' tower canon works





	on the ones pulling the strings (a story from the Capitol)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WreakingHavok](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WreakingHavok/gifts).
  * Inspired by [on the glittering skyline (a story from the Capitol)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24267922) by [everythingFangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingFangirl/pseuds/everythingFangirl). 



> I don't know if I like this, I don't even know if it makes sense, but yeah, here you go. 
> 
> For context, this takes place quite some time after "on the glittering skyline", basically at the end of RT's arc in this universe I guess. (Man, I really just skipped the entire arc itself. Oh well.) I imagine he becomes a gamemaker sometime during decade 5 (possibly leaving an opening for some Wilbur interactions if someone wanted to see/do that hhhhhhehe), and this is already year 63. 
> 
> Why's Ted here? Don't know, but Ted's here.

The Victor’s Welcome is exhausting.

After an hour or two, the voices of the crowd clamoring over each other for a chance to talk to the Mighty Ted Nivison blur together with no distinction. Ted, the proud extrovert he is, resorts to a set of stock phrases and plastic smiles to get through the repetitive questions and generally unbearable enthusiasm. None of these people really matter.

Every once in a while he gets a glimpse of Alex in the crowd, who sometimes maneuvers his way over to get him out of a tough spot, or Cooper, who stubbornly avoids him. He does not see Noah; from what he’s heard, the guy’s just like that.

Among the crowds, though, there’s a voice that stands out. Ted’s trying his best to detach himself from a fan asking a series of increasingly personal questions when he first hears it.

“Mr. Nivison! I was hoping to talk to you.”

At the sound of that voice, Ted has to fight to keep up his smile. That accent sounds so much like _home_ that for a moment, he can hardly breathe. It sounds like that one schoolteacher who Ted always argued with and who always gave him the best grades on his report card; like the daughter of his grandmother’s friend who would come over sometimes to help them clean the house and milk the cows; like the kindly old man who lived by the street corner and would always give young Ted candy if he asked for it. It sounds like Minx. 

But there couldn’t be anyone from 10 here, could there? Maybe a Victor, but they don’t let Victors from other floors attend the Welcome, as far as he knows. So who?

Ted turns around. 

The man in front of him is from the Capitol, no doubt about it. He’s lacking in some of the more outrageous modifications that other people around him sport, but his dark purple suit is studded with twinkling stars, his eyes surrounded by excessive amounts of makeup, his cheeks sprinkled with glitter. Not any Victor Ted knows, either, but there’s a strange sort of familiarity to the man that he struggles to place. 

He still doesn’t connect the dots until he reaches out his hand with a smile. “RT. Gamemaker.”

And Ted feels a surge of hatred almost overwhelm him. He knows now; he’s seen that face staring down at him at the Training Centre when he fought tooth and nail to prove that he’d last more than a minute in the Arena. He knows he was standing in a glossy control room somewhere, back then, life and death right at his fingertips without even sparing a thought for the full consequences of his actions. Suddenly, Ted wants to run as far away from here as he can; he wants to yell to the entire ballroom just how much he despises every single one of them; he wants to punch someone.

But he can’t, so he shakes RT’s hand, and tries to convey his contempt in his grin, in the way he grasps his hand just a little too tight. “Never heard of you.”

“Of course not. People like me work behind the scenes, don’t we? Especially considering you’re from the Districts, I don’t blame you at all.”

It’s surprisingly hard to reconcile the polite persona in front of him with everything he knows he’s responsible for. 

“And to what do I owe this… pleasure?”

“Oh, I wanted to congratulate you in person. On your... success in the Arena.”

That almost makes Ted laugh. He’d thought that the man’s facade must be hiding a complete madman; now he’s absolutely sure of it. Is he really trying to be friendly? After everything he’s done? Surely he must know how Ted feels about him, or is he really that out of touch?

(Ted tries his best to pay no mind to the hesitation in the man’s voice.)

“I’ve gotten plenty of congratulations already, if you haven’t noticed.” Ted gestures vaguely at the crowds around them, hopes that his words can convey what he really wants them to. He doesn’t want to talk to RT any longer than necessary.

RT doesn’t take the hint, though. “Still, victory’s not an easy feat.” Something in his tone sounds almost… apologetic?

Oh, that’s funny. 

“But that’s because you made it difficult, isn’t it?” Ted’s only realizes how forced his grin has become when his cheeks start to hurt.

RT chuckles. “I suppose it is.”

Ted doesn’t stop, continuing, “I was expecting you to just drop a meteor from the sky, with everything else that you were throwing at us. You certainly didn’t make this easy.”

“And yet _you_ made it out. It’s impressive.” Again, there’s that tone of voice that makes it sound like he’s trying to imply more than he’s saying.

“You say that like it was a surprise.” Ted does his best to make that sound cocky, confident, as if he never expected to lose. But every moment he spends with this man makes it harder to keep it up.

“Oh no, not at all! The people were rooting for you, pal. So was I, if you can believe it.”

And there it is again. Ted doesn’t want this man’s sympathy, his apologies, his pity. Every word out of his mouth just makes him angrier. If he’s genuinely sorry about any of this, there are a million other things he could be doing with his power and influence other than giving him thinly veiled words of regret at a gala. What does he think he’s trying to achieve? He’s just as responsible for everything that happened to him as the rest of the Capitol. Why is he trying to make it sound like he actually cares?

“What’s it like to be a _Gamemaker_ , anyway?” Ted asks, putting as much venom into those three syllables as he can. “I’ve always wondered, it’s all very… mysterious.”

RT shrugs again, smiles. “Well, it’s one of the most prestigious positions in the Capitol.” But something changes in his eyes, and his next words are almost too quiet for Ted to hear. “Wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

_I am grateful for this opportunity._

_Thank you all for your support._

_I look forward to the rest of my life here._

The change in his eyes. It’s sadness.

And suddenly, Ted doesn’t know what to think anymore.

The surging of the people around him snaps him back to reality, and he realizes just how long he’s been talking to one person. There must be a crowd forming already, with the number of people that still want to talk to him today.

He meets RT’s eyes again. The flash of sadness is gone; he’s back to his normal self. But now Ted can’t miss the slight weariness in his posture, the suggestion of dark circles under his eyes that the makeup is doing its best to hide. He sees the same kind of smile that he sees whenever he looks in the mirror. 

RT holds out his hand again. “Well, I’m sure you’re busy. Been a pleasure to talk to you.” It sounds sincere. 

There’s nothing Ted can do besides shake his hand. He’s still not sure how to respond, exactly, but he gives a slight squeeze. This time, it’s not meant to be threatening; it’s meant to be reassuring, to say _I understand_.

“Likewise…” but he can’t drop the act. Not here. “RP, was it?”

He smiles. “Daniel.”

Ted watches the purple suit fade back into the crowd, and wonders if there’s anyone else in the Capitol he’s been misinterpreting quite like this.

For some reason, he doubts it.

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as a fun little idea, ooh wouldn't gamemaker RT be cool, then I started thinking of ways to make him sympathetic despite being… complicit in the Hunger Games… and now I have an entire arc for him. hhhhhow did this happen


End file.
